A New Generation Of Macho Men

June 26, 1988|By CANDICE RUSSELL, Film Writer

By comparison, Schwarzenegger and Stallone have bodies that can be caricatured and satirized as easily as praised. Perhaps the physical intimidation factor they present works against their being taken 100 percent seriously on-screen.

The difference between the two actors is that Schwarzenegger seems to know of his value as a human cartoon and capitalizes on it. He looks almost laughable in his Soviet policeman`s uniform in Red Heat. Filmgoers may well wonder if those 8-foot-wide shoulders are inflatable.

The measure of the super-hero derives from the way he approaches the world. While Hogan, Stallone and Schwarzenegger all do the impossible, the characters of the latter two are less likely to be the life of any on-screen party. Let`s face it -- Stallone and Schwarzenegger don`t play fun guys.

At least Schwarzenegger is trying to chip away at the iron-jawed, laser-tough image. It is telling that in the latest films of Hogan and Schwarzenegger, there are humorous references to another superstar hero. After Japanese tourists help Mick ``Crocodile`` Dundee foil a thug in a subway station, one tourist excitedly tells the other: ``You know who that was? Clint Eastwood!``

In Red Heat, Schwarzenegger is told of the superior firepower of the .44 Magnum by co-star James Belushi, who says it is Dirty Harry`s gun of choice. Schwarzenegger looks perplexed as he asks in a thick accent, ``Who is Dirty Harry?``

By sustaining their sense of amusement alongside their deeds of machismo, Schwarzenegger and Hogan may well last longer than those from the past. And that could well leave Stallone`s Rambo choking on his own dust.